Ash-shovel



(No-Model.)

W. T. MILLER.

ASH SHOVEL.

No. 507,826. Patented Oct; 31, 1893.

.dttorneyi UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM T. MILLER, OF MOKEESPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

ASH-SHOVEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 507,826, dated October31, 1893.

Application filed June 2, 1893- Serial No. 476,379- (No model.)

To all whom it" may concern.-

3e it known that I, WILLIAM T. MILLER, a c1t1zen of the United States,and a resident of McKeesport, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAsh-Shovels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part ofthis Lspecification, and in which- Figure l is a longitudinal sectionalview of my improved self-closing shovel, showing in dotted lines theposition of the tightly fitting cover when open. Fig. 2 is a plan or topview of the shovel, showing it closed, with the cover down.

Like letters of reference designate corresponding parts in boththefigures.

This invention relates to devices for removing the ashes, cinders, andpartially burned coals from the fire-box or combustion chamber of agrate, stove, or range, and consists in a novel and improvedconstruction and combination of parts of a self-closing shovel, as willbe hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in theclaim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the letter Adenotes the body ofmy improved shovel, which is made from sheet metal of suitable thicknessto give it proper stiffness and strength. This body has a fiat bottom a,an inclined semicircular back 6 and parallel sloping sides 0 c, theforward ends of which are out off inclined or slanting, as shown at d,to correspond approximately to the incline or slope of the closed backb, so that the flat bottom a will extend some distance beyond or infront of the sides and top, as shown at a.

Fastened upon the rounded back b, by a reinforcing curved strap or pieceb, is a tubular handle B of suitable length, and set at a convenientangle for handling the shovel easily. Inside of and inclosed by thishandle is a stiff coiled spring 0, through which is inserted theoperating-rod D, against the upper enlarged head dof which spring 0impinges with its adjacent end. To the head d is fastened a short tube E(or it may be solid,

the object of making this piece E hollow being simply to reduce theweight), which has a short finger or thumb-piece, F, projecting througha slotf in the upper side of the tubular handle. At its lower end, thespring 0 bears or abuts against a collar G, which is fastened within thetubular handle by one or more stub-screws g, so that the tension of thespring will be in an upward direction, 1'. e., pushing rod D and itsextension E with the thumb-piece F in the direction of the knob B at theouter end of the handle.

To the lower, or inner, end of rod D is articulated a bent lever H,having its fulcrum on a pin IL on a stud or bearing I fastened on theupper side of the handle near its lower end. The upper longer arm oflever H is articulated to the rear end of a rod J, which extends alongthe median line of the curved top or cover K, the sides and oval backofwhich are fastened (by soldering, riveting, or in any othersuitablemanner) respectively to the sides 0 and back b of the body of theshovel. The rod J projects some distance beyond the fixed oval top K,and is jointed at its extreme end to a lug Z, which is fastened, bymeans of a bearing and reinforcing plate L, to the slanting front coverM of the rivets m. This inclined front cover M is oval or rounded to fitclosely and dust-tight the contiguous inclined sides (1 and extendedbottom part a, of the short body, to which itis hinged by short studshinge-pins, 11., one on each side; the sides of the rounded and inclinedcover M being provided with side flaps N, which overlap, on the outside,the sloping sides 0 d of the shovel body. The lower edge of the hingedcover M must fit tightly against and upon the outer edge of theprojecting lip a, as shownclearly in Fig. 1, so as to prevent escape ofany of the contents of the shovel, after this has been filled withashes, &c., and the cover closed down, automatically, by the operationof spring 0, rod D, lever H and rod J.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings,the manner of using my improved self-closing shovel will readily beunderstood and does not, it is be-' lieved, require further explanation.To remove ashes, cinders, and other products of imperfect combustionfrom the firepot or ICO grate of a stove, the cover is first opened, asshown in dotted lines on Fig. 1, by grasping the handle between the knobB and sliding thumb-piece F, and by then pushing on the latter with thethumb (which it is very easy to do when the hand is in this position),spring 0 is compressed and the rod D forced in a downward direction,which tilts lever H on its fulcrum h (as clearly shown in dotted lines)so as to pull upon the connecting rod J and. thereby open cover M. Theshovel is then pushed into the heap of ashes, 850., so as to fill it,when, by letting go of the thumbpiece, spring 0 will force rod D upagain into its normal position, shown in full line on the drawings, andthus close cover M firmly down against the slanting sides and projectingbottom of the shovel; the overlapping sides and flaps N forming adust-tight joint so that no part of the contents can escape whilecarrying the shovel from the grate or stove to the ash-and-cinderdepository.

Having thus fully described my invention,

I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- Theimproved self-closing shovel herein shown and described, comprising thebody A having an oval fixed top or cover K, a projecting lip or frontenda, and rounded inclined back 12; tubular handle B B having the slotf; coiled spring 0; headed rod D having extension E provided with thethumb-piece F; lever I-I; connecting'rod J; and hinged inclined cover Mhaving overlapping side-flaps or hinge flaps N and central hinge-stud orhearing I; all constructed and combined to operate substantially in themanner and for the purpose shown and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereuntoaflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

\VILLIAM 'l. MILLER. Witnesses:

J. W. ALBIG, R. C. RANKIN.

